Lent III, John 4:5-42 Have you ever met an important or famous person but you didn’t know they were famous until later? It certainly changes the dynamics quite a bit when that happens unaware. My former parish of St. John’s in Worthington, Ohio was a very large and affluent church and when I was still new, I had no idea who the people were, in fact, being from the west, many big names in Ohio meant nothing to me. For instance, I didn’t realize the Provost of the Ohio State University was a member even though I had seen him there many times. And I often felt like the bumbling new assistant priest, totally out of place, not nearly educated enough, and still trying to find my way around an altar, while struggling with a number of personal and family crises to boot. There was one parishioner named John, whose family and children attended, and he often came to our Wednesday evening services and especially liked to talk to me about my sermons or other theological concepts, sometimes over lunch or at our weekday prayer gatherings. Over time he became one of my “cheerleaders” at the parish and would sometimes counsel me on leadership skills and encourage me saying that I had a lot of potential, that the national church needed me, and that I should strive to be a leader in the Episcopal Church. I found it very kind and flattering, but I didn’t think too much about it. It was only later that I found out who John was: he was a former Senator for Ohio and later he asked me to pray for him to have discernment about whether or not to run for governor of Ohio. John was recently elected as the governor of Ohio and I consider him a friend and even a mentor of sorts. While we don’t agree on every political issue, I know he prayerfully seeks to know and do God’s will and is willing to take time out of his schedule to help others, others who may not be "important" in the world’s eyes. His kindness and support helped me move out of my sense of insignificance in a time when I most needed it. Looking at our Gospel story, I relate to the woman at the well because she is not someone that by the culture’s standards is anyone to take notice of. I’ve always felt that way and I’m sure many of us have felt the same way about ourselves. But she was forever changed after her encounter with Jesus, the Messiah. If we were to take a poll, and ask the question: What kind of person would God choose to be the first to be given the amazing revelation that Jesus is the Messiah….what attributes would we come up with? I think we would tend to assume, especially given the culture Jesus was in at the time, that it would be man, very possibly a Jewish religious or at least a disciple of Jesus, they would be well known and respected, well to do perhaps, they would certainly be someone with a righteous or holy reputation, they would be someone Jesus knew very well, and really, we would probably imagine this revelation would be given to a large group of important people in a rather flashy way, so that the word would spread far and wide very quickly. That seems most effective. But Jesus chooses probably the most unlikely candidate we could ever imagine: He chooses a stranger, who is a woman (who men would not have spoken to in that culture), he chooses a woman who is not a Jew but a Samaritan, who was considered unclean (even despised), he chooses a woman who is of a lower class and is an outcast in her town, and he chooses a woman who not known for her righteousness, but is a notorious sinner with multiple husbands. And the conversation happens when Jesus is all alone with her: there is no crowd, just an audience of one. This one, very unlikely Samaritan woman. It happens not on a mountaintop or within the walls of the Temple or a synagogue, but during a casual conversation sitting beside at a well in the heat of the day, when no one else is around. There this woman learns that this ordinary Jewish man who is speaking to her is not plain or ordinary at all, but is THE Messiah, the chosen anointed one of God, who has come to bring salvation to all people. And he is talking to her and her alone in that moment, revealing the central truth of who he is to her, before he does so with anyone else. Why did he pick her we may wonder. But just look at the way this encounter with Jesus changed her: she went from being no one to being blessed by God with this incredible news, entrusted to carry the message to others, the very first missionary-evangelist in the Bible, a true leader in every sense. God does not choose those we would choose or those we think are important. And we might be tempted to think that this choice was a poor one, because who would ever believe this outcast woman? But in fact, her openness and her faith was contagious: and we learn that nearly her whole city was converted and they believed in Jesus because of her testimony. She brought the crowds to Jesus simply by sharing her story. The reason this story is so important to you and I is because God is showing us in this text that we, as individuals, matter deeply to God. You are known by God, God knows your name and your whole life story (the good, the bad and the ugly), and not only that, but God has a call and an invitation for you to do great things in God’s kingdom, if and when we are receptive. Those of you here who think you are the most unlikely candidates are actually essential in God’s kingdom, maybe you think you’re unimportant because others have told you that, or because you’re too shy, or don’t feel talented, or because you’re too young or too old, too flawed, too uneducated, too socially awkward, too weird, or too whatever…Jesus reveals in this story that you may be the very person God wants to use to do great things in God’s kingdom. Many of you already are. No matter who you are, God wants you to know Jesus , to know who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for you in love. The Good News if for you personally. Jesus is offering each of us today, right now, in this rather simple, every day moment, to come to the well and drink the Living Water that he offers us. Christ is here now and is present and wants to commune with you personally. Come and drink and eat. And when we leave here, let’s not keep this Good News to ourselves, but like the woman, share it with those we know and love, in our words and deeds: the Savior of the world has made himself know to you.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The Woman at the Well
Lent III, John 4:5-42 Have you ever met an important or famous person but you didn’t know they were famous until later? It certainly changes the dynamics quite a bit when that happens unaware. My former parish of St. John’s in Worthington, Ohio was a very large and affluent church and when I was still new, I had no idea who the people were, in fact, being from the west, many big names in Ohio meant nothing to me. For instance, I didn’t realize the Provost of the Ohio State University was a member even though I had seen him there many times. And I often felt like the bumbling new assistant priest, totally out of place, not nearly educated enough, and still trying to find my way around an altar, while struggling with a number of personal and family crises to boot. There was one parishioner named John, whose family and children attended, and he often came to our Wednesday evening services and especially liked to talk to me about my sermons or other theological concepts, sometimes over lunch or at our weekday prayer gatherings. Over time he became one of my “cheerleaders” at the parish and would sometimes counsel me on leadership skills and encourage me saying that I had a lot of potential, that the national church needed me, and that I should strive to be a leader in the Episcopal Church. I found it very kind and flattering, but I didn’t think too much about it. It was only later that I found out who John was: he was a former Senator for Ohio and later he asked me to pray for him to have discernment about whether or not to run for governor of Ohio. John was recently elected as the governor of Ohio and I consider him a friend and even a mentor of sorts. While we don’t agree on every political issue, I know he prayerfully seeks to know and do God’s will and is willing to take time out of his schedule to help others, others who may not be "important" in the world’s eyes. His kindness and support helped me move out of my sense of insignificance in a time when I most needed it. Looking at our Gospel story, I relate to the woman at the well because she is not someone that by the culture’s standards is anyone to take notice of. I’ve always felt that way and I’m sure many of us have felt the same way about ourselves. But she was forever changed after her encounter with Jesus, the Messiah. If we were to take a poll, and ask the question: What kind of person would God choose to be the first to be given the amazing revelation that Jesus is the Messiah….what attributes would we come up with? I think we would tend to assume, especially given the culture Jesus was in at the time, that it would be man, very possibly a Jewish religious or at least a disciple of Jesus, they would be well known and respected, well to do perhaps, they would certainly be someone with a righteous or holy reputation, they would be someone Jesus knew very well, and really, we would probably imagine this revelation would be given to a large group of important people in a rather flashy way, so that the word would spread far and wide very quickly. That seems most effective. But Jesus chooses probably the most unlikely candidate we could ever imagine: He chooses a stranger, who is a woman (who men would not have spoken to in that culture), he chooses a woman who is not a Jew but a Samaritan, who was considered unclean (even despised), he chooses a woman who is of a lower class and is an outcast in her town, and he chooses a woman who not known for her righteousness, but is a notorious sinner with multiple husbands. And the conversation happens when Jesus is all alone with her: there is no crowd, just an audience of one. This one, very unlikely Samaritan woman. It happens not on a mountaintop or within the walls of the Temple or a synagogue, but during a casual conversation sitting beside at a well in the heat of the day, when no one else is around. There this woman learns that this ordinary Jewish man who is speaking to her is not plain or ordinary at all, but is THE Messiah, the chosen anointed one of God, who has come to bring salvation to all people. And he is talking to her and her alone in that moment, revealing the central truth of who he is to her, before he does so with anyone else. Why did he pick her we may wonder. But just look at the way this encounter with Jesus changed her: she went from being no one to being blessed by God with this incredible news, entrusted to carry the message to others, the very first missionary-evangelist in the Bible, a true leader in every sense. God does not choose those we would choose or those we think are important. And we might be tempted to think that this choice was a poor one, because who would ever believe this outcast woman? But in fact, her openness and her faith was contagious: and we learn that nearly her whole city was converted and they believed in Jesus because of her testimony. She brought the crowds to Jesus simply by sharing her story. The reason this story is so important to you and I is because God is showing us in this text that we, as individuals, matter deeply to God. You are known by God, God knows your name and your whole life story (the good, the bad and the ugly), and not only that, but God has a call and an invitation for you to do great things in God’s kingdom, if and when we are receptive. Those of you here who think you are the most unlikely candidates are actually essential in God’s kingdom, maybe you think you’re unimportant because others have told you that, or because you’re too shy, or don’t feel talented, or because you’re too young or too old, too flawed, too uneducated, too socially awkward, too weird, or too whatever…Jesus reveals in this story that you may be the very person God wants to use to do great things in God’s kingdom. Many of you already are. No matter who you are, God wants you to know Jesus , to know who Jesus is and what Jesus has done for you in love. The Good News if for you personally. Jesus is offering each of us today, right now, in this rather simple, every day moment, to come to the well and drink the Living Water that he offers us. Christ is here now and is present and wants to commune with you personally. Come and drink and eat. And when we leave here, let’s not keep this Good News to ourselves, but like the woman, share it with those we know and love, in our words and deeds: the Savior of the world has made himself know to you.
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